Zander is the name of a new up-and-coming indie musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Leeds, now based in London. With the help of fellow Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts alumni Bob Mackenzie (James Blake, The 1975, SAULT, Daniel Caesar, Divorce + more), he released his new EP ‘No Silver’ on November 14th, which focused on the move from his working-class roots in Harrogate, Leeds to the big city to chase his dreams – something he is still working through as he is adjusting to his first year in London. Ahead of the release, we sat down with the talented artist to chat about all things growing up, music making, out-of-pocket ideas for visuals and his biggest good luck charm.
I know you’re originally from Leeds and you just moved to London, right?
Yeah, just moved to London recently. I would say the biggest difference between living in Leeds and living in London is, I guess, the size. And regarding music, there’s a handful of venues in Leeds you’d want to do, and once you’ve done them, you can’t really play it every day, every week. So for me, musically, the size of London is definitely an advantage.
Do you think the move impacted your songwriting, or the way that you write songs?
I think so! A lot of, especially the EP ‘No Silver’, is a reflection on how that whole move was and the challenges that come with that. I think it was never intentional that I’m going to write a song about moving to London, but it’s like its own little country, so there are a lot of alien things. I just write songs about what’s going on, and I think as a reflection of time, I wrote it all up while I was navigating all of that.
Are you the first person in your family to pursue music?
I’m the first to try doing it properly! I started playing guitar when I was 14, and when I was about 16, I had two little brothers, and I forced them to learn instruments as well. So, then we had a little brother band, we used to play in the village, and whenever there were little festivals. We did classic rock covers. I know my dad used to try to be in bands when he was young. But yeah, first of my family, and hopefully not last!
What’s your earliest memory of enjoying music and being like, “This is what I want to do”?
Gigs! I always liked going to gigs. My mum used to take me to shows, and live music was always a big thing for us. But, in terms of my own playing, I always wanted to be a guitarist. I loved all the old rock people like Slash, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. But the first tune I learned was Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’, and I remember doing it and actually sounding not awful. And I was like, “Oh my God, I’ve got a hobby!”, so I was sticking to it, and I thought no one else my age could really do it. I remember, just like, the sense of being able to have something that was mine and I could do by myself.
Do you think those musicians you loved as a child still impact you now, and the music you make now?
In a way, they do, I’d say. I don’t take any direct influence from what I used to listen to, because if I did, my music would not be what it is now. It was all classic rock or folk. There are some folk elements in the EP! I think just being obsessed with the guitar was my big thing. So I guess, in a way, yes, because I still obviously have that all over my songs.
Do you remember the very first song that you’ve ever written and what it was about?
I don’t remember, but I can take a guess! It was probably about some young love, I imagine. I’ve been writing since I was 15, but not seriously; I just toyed around. The first song I actually made a demo for was called ‘King of Control’. I was about 17, and it was a song about not being able to control what goes on in your life. It’s a terrible song, but that’s the first I remember, and it will never be out; it’s not worth anybody ever hearing.
What is your songwriting process like?
It changes a lot. I think, with this EP, it was less random than it ever has been. I tried focusing on the nostalgia and reflection of growing up and moving away. I feel like that’s usually a loose topic. Then I started with music and whatever vibe I’ve been on that day. I guess when you have these conversations about reflection and nostalgia, everyone always just assumes that you’re sad or it has to be this dramatic thing, but there are lots of moments, even when you’re growing up poor, when you move away, that are really good. There are quite a lot of upbeat-sounding songs on the EP, and in a lot of those songs, it is about those happier moments or moments that I don’t have completely negative views towards. So with the songwriting on this, I just tried to focus on the overall story and the vibe, instead of just like, I’m going to write about boats one day and then next day I’m going to write about door hangers, it was more focused on a time in my life.
Is there anyone in particular that you look up to regarding songwriting?
Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief is my number one songwriter, so good! And then James Blake, experimenting with electronic stuff. I mean, it’s not really portrayed in this EP, but that kind of stuff is on my laptop. I’ve got hundreds and hundreds of songs that I’ve written and made demos of, the spectrum is huge of what it can be! I’ve got this drum and bass sounding tune, then I’ve gone completely folk, and you can refine it from both those angles. And I feel like that’s what this EP has done. Well, it’s an indie folk EP, I’m not trying to hide that, but there’s definitely inspiration from everywhere along the way!
What’s your favourite song on the EP and why?
I’m gonna say the song called ‘New Woman’, just because I’ve produced it all and I wrote it all, and it’s the first time I’ve ever done that. It’s made me realise that I can actually do that! So that’s how the process is happening now. Going forward, I’m going to do a lot more myself.
Which one was the hardest for you to write, whether it was emotionally hard or just hard to finish?
I did ‘Madeline’ with my friends, Bob [Mackenzie] and Louis [Rogove], in a studio. We didn’t have any of the song written, we just went in and we were playing around for ages. We had the vibe, and we had a keyboard player. I was in my stage of trying to be like, it can’t be simple, we’ve gotta make it really complicated. And I remember we were like, “Do this time signature here, and we’ll do this here!”, and this was before any lyrics were written. Eventually, we dropped everything and just went down to acoustic guitars, but as a texture instead of a harmonic thing. And when we got over that hurdle, it was easier to write. I was actually going through voice notes from those sessions the other day, and what we’ve got now is so different to what we came out with on that first day. I guess that just comes from listening to it and having some sort of opinion on whether your music’s good or bad. I’m quite critical or can be quite critical, but in my head, that makes it part of the journey, because after the first few weeks of sitting on a song, you know what needs to be changed. “Honour your vomit!”, is what they say. You can really come up with something good!
Are you generally critical of yourself? How do you navigate that?
Yeah, I think so, but I think not initially. If you ever catch me the day after I’ve written a new song, I will have played through it about 10 times, and eventually, I can hear every little bit that I’d want to change or do differently. But that just comes with changing as a person. You can write something, and it can be perfect at the time, and then later on down the line, it can be different. I think the EP process has been nice because we finished it earlier this year, and with being able to have a bit of time away from it, and then coming back to it, you get to a point where you’re like, “It’s actually good, and I wouldn’t change a thing!”. And it also really doesn’t matter! So yeah, I am quite critical, but in the wrong areas.
What inspires you visually, when it comes to photo shoots, the EP cover art, music videos, etc.?
That’s a very good question, and probably one you don’t want to include in this interview. My visual ideas are famously terrible. They’re either completely weird and like, well, usually they are! They’re just quite surreal and pretty unachievable to do. I’m always like, “Oh, we could do this!” and everyone’s like, “No, we can’t!”. “We can’t have 10 Eagles in your bedroom. What the hell are you talking about?” So, visually, I find it probably the most challenging. But that being said, I’m really happy with what we’ve come up with. We’ve focused quite a lot on performance things; the ‘New Woman’ video is just a live band performance, which I’ve been really proud of. I think getting the aesthetic right has been important, not too clean, but then at the same time, not too left field, just a lot of VHS cameras. I like taking it back to that kind of late 90s, early 2000s feeling, which seems to have worked visually. And then the music’s newer indie pop, which is a nice crossover, I think!
I’ve read that you did loads of gigs this year. Do you have any pre-show rituals or a good luck charm that you keep with you?
My good luck charm is probably my keyboard player, Charlie. He’s always there. He’s been my friend since we went to uni, he was 18, I was 21, and then we moved to London at the same time. But as a ritual, we don’t have anything crazy; everyone’s very calm. We listen to that one Raye song, ‘Worth It”, we play that every single time, usually more than once. And everyone’s just nice to each other. We talk about the songs, and there’s always a last-minute change with how we’re going to approach it. Country music, Raye and kindness would be the big three of our ritual!
Written by Vicky Madzak // photography by Lily Doidge
GEM Magazine 